Outsider
by lordofire
Summary: 'When the brothers left us, they left two to govern us. A Queen and A King. The Queen wished to spread darkness across the land. The King stopped her, and with ancient magic cast her away. In her rage and madness, she turned her darkness, her very essence, into a curse.
1. Chapter 1

**lordofire here with a dabble**

**X.**

_'When the brothers left us, they left two to govern us. A Queen and A King. The Queen wished to spread darkness across the land. The King stopped her, and with ancient magic cast her away. Behind her banishment, He created an unbreakable wall to halt her._

_In her rage and madness, she turned her darkness, her very essence, into a curse. _

_To be touched by it. Is to turn._

_So remember children, you must run away if you ever encounter a Cursed, you must run._

_Or be cursed._

**X.**

Seven year old Ruby had to hold her breath as she hid away in the husk of a dead stump of a tree. The sounds of tall grass breaking and rustling made her heart quicken as she curled up into a ball. She could peek out from her hiding spot through holes in the bark of the tree.

Her heart stopped as her peeking spot was suddenly covered by darkness. The little girl had to quietly cover her mouth to prevent herself from screaming in pure fright.

The large skull of a dragon, blackened by the curse, and possessing no human flesh what so ever, peered at her hiding spot. Blue eyes, six in total that ran down its snout, three on each side, glowed like fire and leered at the stump she was hiding in. Dark fangs that could both pierce and crush, glistened like polished metal in the noon sun. It was attached to a rather humanoid body, but it was changed by the Curse and was devoid of anything resembling the original body. Just darkness. The body of her hunter was in proportion with its skull but it was lean and strong. Such as the Curse afflicted onto those.

Why would he be staring at her hiding spot? She hadn't made a sound and she had gotten away to it before he had entered the clearing. Dawning horror raced to Ruby's mind and she slowly, but frantically turned around, and to her horror, she found that her treasured crimson cloak did not make it fully into her hiding spot. That meant that a large patch of it was sticking out!

Which meant...

Suddenly, the bark in front of her was ripped away by a fearsome claw. His shadowy cloak and armor blotted out the sun and blue eyes sharpened onto her form.

With nothing else to do, Ruby felt tears run down her cheeks as she broke down crying in her ruined hiding spot mere feet from a Cursed.

It continued on for several minutes before it got old.

"Ruby. Crying won't work on me. Now do help me with the food. I can not carry it by myself.", a deep, but soothing voiced called from the Cursed. Within his other arm was a large bag of fresh food and hanging off one of his long, bony tail were several more that were filled to the brim with other goods.

She sniffled and wiped her face with her hand before she responded. "But Mr. Arccccc. Its not fair! I always have to carry the groceries. They all know the best hiding spots.", she hiccuped and complained as she moved away from her stump. The Cursed's twin tails swung towards her, careful to not touch her or to let the bags slip off, where she grabbed a rather small bag off the end of it and began to lug it behind her.

The draconic skull regarded her with his familiar blue eyes that were looking at her with a look that would be accompanied by a raised eyebrow. Unfortunately, his skull was only covered in shadowy flesh that did not allow any hair to be grown.

"If I do recall, I do allow you to have first choice of all the groceries we find once we get back. Speaking of which. Everyone! Time to go!", he called out loudly into the clearing. His cloak billowed, revealing more skeletal, black flesh covered in knights armor, and the wind rustled the trees as well. Within seconds, more children came into the plain.

"Sensei.", two young children, no more then ten, bowed to him in respect. Blake and Ren had both dropped down from the tree they were hiding in, being the fastest to heed his call. The young cat faunus eyes were solely trained on his tail, which was carrying a bag of fish that they had managed to scrounge up. Ren was ever patient and strict as he stood up straight and at the ready for a command. Within minutes, another pair of children entered the clearing.

"See Weiss? I always know the best hiding spots.", a young Pyrrha boasted as they emerged from the wood work. The red head had a gleeful smile at winning the game, and she was followed by prim and proper Weiss, who was trying to pull several sticks from her carefully nourished hair. The white haired girl seemed to be on the verge of throwing a tantrum from how her hair was covered in foliage especially since jubilant Pyrrha seemed to be not affected by all the wilderness.

"Professor when get back can you help me with my hair?"

"Educator when we get back can we play more games?"

Weiss and Pyrrha asked at the same time as they came to stand behind their tall care giver. They both looked up at the accursed being with expectant gazes that allowed for no room of measure of rejection.

"Of course.", he simply answered, not really paying attention as he searched for his two most boisterous charges. The last two were always the ones he had to remain vigilant for.

"They're always lateeee.", little Ruby complained as she sat on her stump with Blake, who was looking into the bag that Ruby was tasked with carrying.

"Nora said they wanted to try and get food." Ren informed as he tried to pull some sticks out of Weiss hair, while Pyrrha kept her occupied with talk.

The loud rustling of foliage made them all turn their attention to the forest behind them. The children hurriedly rushed back as fear took over them. The tall Cursed one slowly moved in front of the children, his cloak and large frame shielding them from whatever may emerge from the forest. His right hand was flexed, revealing sharpened bone-like claws, as his left hand handled a sheathed long sword that he had kept hidden under his cloak.

The children remained silent, behind him. Pyrrha holding a shaking Ruby.

It was a few tense seconds of quiet, before something emerged from the foliage.

A small corgi named Zwei.

'_Bark' _Everyone relaxed as the small dog bounded towards the children who all welcomed him with open arms, save for Blake who decided to stay by her Sensei's side. The Cursed merely looked back to where the small puppy had come from.

"Hey Teach!" Yang shouted loudly as she came out with a wide toothy smile. "Guess who just won the race from the river?" she proclaimed with hands on her hips, breathless. She was nearly bowled over by Nora charging through the brush.

"I did! Nora is still queen!" The final child proclaimed as she barreled past Yang to reach him. She stopped just mere inches from his tall form, only to look at him with a wide smile. "See Lærer? I got to you first!"

The eight foot tall Cursed merely looked down at the small ginger, before nodding in agreement, much to the dismay of Yang. Without a word to say, both of his tails swung in Yang's direction, presenting two bags of goods that she was now tasked with carrying.

"You're own rules Yang. Now come. I want to get home before the sun sets.", their mysterious benefactor said as he began leading them out of the plains. His children followed him dutifully, very much like a mother duck and her ducklings. They followed his every step and were content with his guidance. Zwei himself trailed just behind the Cursed, uncaring of the curse or its affects on him.

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"Pyrrha do we have to play Monopolize when we get home? You always win.", Ruby asked her fellow red headed child as the nine wanderers passed under a desecrated bridge. The ruins of mobile vehicles and several poor evacuees still remained on sight and the wretched smell of ruin still hung heavy in the air. Yet the children remained oblivious and jubilant.

"Ruby you only loss because you buy the worst places.", Weiss chimed in as she tried to avoid stepping in the various pot holes filled with rubble and water. Zwei followed her path, unwilling to get himself stuck in the holes with his stubby legs.

Nora and Yang on the other hand took great liberty in jumping in each puddle they could find, trying to make the biggest splash. They left the ones with bodies well alone as Teacher had sternly taught them.

"Its all in the dice roll Ruby. You have to count the numbers. But Educator is way better then me.", Pyrrha responded as she looked forward to the line leader. The skull turned to her slightly, before responding.

"You use the same moves and try to get to the same spots over and over again. And Weiss, just because something is more expensive does not make it better.", he turned slightly more to catch a glimpse of Ruby. "You're a bit young to have a game style. Maybe you'll have one that'll beat me."

To his credit, smiling with a skull is much harder than you would think, so the best he could manage was a cruel smirk. Thankfully, over the years with them, the children were able to recognize his smile.

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.

A residential building laid to their left and a supermarket's carcass laid to there right. Both familiar landmarks as they had come to them for supplies a while ago.

"Lærer what are we going to have to eat for dinner?" Nora asked as she and Blake peered into a rather nice car that had been left to ruins. It remained in shape and didn't seem to be damaged. Merely abandoned with a skeleton in it.

"Fish sticks?" Blake asked hopefully as they rushed back to get in line. Ren and Pyrrha were dashing and playing on the roofs of the crowded street while Yang chased Zwei through the derelict vehicles. All the while, Ruby stuck to her care taker's side, careful not to touch him.

"We shall see. I was lucky to find some fresh produce still in the freezer and I'll make sure to check the garden when we get back.", the Accursed replied as they continued to walk through the forgotten street.

"Sensei can I help in the kitchen?!" Ren asked eagerly as he sat on a large van, panting from his lost race to Pyrrha. The dragon skull merely nodded in approval.

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"Echo!" Ruby shouted loudly as she sat on an abandoned bench as the rest of her party looked through the abandoned mall to pick up things the children wanted. It reverberated back to her in a satisfying pattern as she sat on her bench in the still operational mall. Her only problem with it that it was dreadfully dusty. But other wise, all the electronics and lighting still worked.

She happily fiddled with a set of stuffed animals that she had managed to fit in the grocery bag that Mr. Arc had tasked her with carrying. Zwei was underneath her feet, happily chewing away at one of the thousands of unsold sock pairs within the mall.

"Hey Ruby! Look what I found!" Her bombastic half-sister Yang shouted as she came running back to her from the unlooted Scroller Roolers. They weren't full blood sisters has Mr. Arc had explained but half sisters. That meant they had different moms but the same Dad. Which made sense to Ruby since Mr. Arc was kinda their dad. That meant everyone else was a half sibling too, which meant Ruby had the biggest family in the world.

"Its a new Scroll game! A whole bunch of them and they're all brand new!" she said excitedly, presenting her collection of scroll games that would most definitely entertain them from weeks on end. Not wanting to be outdone, Ruby herself answered the challenge.

"Look what I found!" Ruby said back as she presented to Yang her most prized find.

It was a stuffed, pink pig. She had found him at the bottom of the toys bin and in mint condition.

"I named him Pierogi! His nose squeaks!" The seven year old showed off as she did in fact squeeze his nose and a cute squeak followed suit. The little girl looked up expectantly at her blonde sister, who had a rather reserved expression.

"Uhhh I'm not going to lie Ruby. Teach told me not to. That sounds really dumb and lame.", she stated bluntly as she slung her bag of games behind her back. The insult cut like a cold dagger and Ruby physically deflated. Why was her stuff never good enough! Pierogi would make a great snuggle buddy.

Anger and hurt mixed within her like a storm, and within moments tears were coming from her eyes. Her crying echoed throughout the mall and Yang felt fear as she realized that a certain somebody would most certainly hear it. Zwei was already whimpering next to Ruby, trying his best to soothe the crying child. Not even two seconds after she had thought that, loud foot steps sounded out and his very presence seemed to darken the entire area.

"What's the matter Ruby?" Teach's gravelly voice asked, showing nothing but kindness and care. It was almost like a coo.

Through her hurt crying, and sobs Ruby managed to say, "Y-ya-yang said P-Pierogi was lameeee." The dragon skull looked down to the stuffed pig that she was holding in her arms.

Tentatively, he held out a hand to receive it, where sniffling Ruby gently put her favorite stuffed animal. He held up the stuffed animal, which made a funny scene. A terrifying, nightmarish Cursed and an inanimate pink pig staring eye to eye.

"I find that he is not lame. I think he is very cute.", Their caretaker reassured.

"His nose squeaks.", Ruby said as she wiped her eyes, her mood improving with his kind words and his presence. A squeak from the toy caused by his claws proved Ruby's statements. Seeing the joy in Ruby's eyes and that her mood had improved, he turned his attention to the older of the two sisters.

"I think he's adorable. Don't you think so Yang?" he asked as he looked down at the blonde girl who sheepishly looked away.

"You told me not to lie.", she said her foot rubbing the floor.

"I did. But I also said you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all.", Her Teacher said coaxing her to apologize to Ruby.

"Sorry Ruby. Pierogi isn't lame.", the blonde sister apologized, obviously very regretful. Not wanting to shame his other charge as well, the Accursed turned his six-eyed gaze to Yang's bag. His claw reached in and retrieved a Scroll cartridge that was used to upload a video game directly to a scroll.

"Big Ring 5: Sentinel. We can play this later after dinner.", he promised. Yang looked at him excitedly and a gleeful smile.

"Really?"

"Yes.", he nodded as he rounded them up on the benches. He would need to find the rest of his children, while the mall was still secure, he didn't want to leave them alone for too long. Especially Nora.

"Zwei. Come help me find the rest. You two, stay here.", he said as the small dog leapt into action and began leading him to the other children. Yang and Ruby were preoccupied by looking at the rest of Yang's bounty.

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.

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"I'm sorry Educator.", Pyrrha once again apologized as they walked next to the river that would lead them home. The rest of the children followed his lead as they passed more and more derelict and abandoned vehicles. They had probably thought to take the river road to get away, only to be stuck and be forced to go on foot.

"You were lucky Pyrrha that you only hit me with that knife.", he berated the child. Be it his luck that he would find Ren and Pyrrha play fighting with kitchen knives when he found them. Ren, with a particularly strong swing, had managed to knock Pyrrha away, who ended up stabbing him in the shin.

The fact that it hurt him didn't bother him. He couldn't feel it anyways.

"I expected better of you. Fighting with knives? I'd expect that from Yang and Nora. Not from you two." the Accursed one reprimanded them. They had the sense to look away in guilt, while he ignored the voices of indignation from the rambunctious duo.

"We're just trying to be like you.", Pyrrha glumly said. "You get to use a sword. What about us?"

"I use it as a weapon of defense. To protect you.", he said in such a kind, fatherly way that Pyrrha instantly quieted down.

"Mr. Arc? Can we play in the river?" Ruby asked as she looked at the river that was bathed in the light of a setting sun. He turned three of his eyes to observe what the rest of his 'ducklings' thought. They stared at the rushing water with hidden glee and seeing that there was still plenty of sunlight left, he would allow it.

"Go ahead. But keep to the shallows.", he responded. The children hurriedly dropped their bags and ran down to the banks of the river, carefully removing their shoes and socks before they began wading into the water. All the while he positioned himself with all the bags of goods on the bank so that his six eyes could keep track of all them.

Zwei positioned himself by his side, and he began to scratch the small puppy corgi. His affliction did not affect animals and it did not carry on through the dog's touch.

Nora let out a bellow as she tackled a pensive Blake into the water, who let out a very cat-like yowl as she sank into the shallows. Ren found himself being lifted into the air by the combined might of both Ruby and Pyrrha and thrown into the water. Weiss and Yang were playing a very elaborate game of cat and mouse, as Yang avoided Weiss splashing water on her hair. Such rough play would require more laundry to be done and for them to take baths but at least they were having fun.

His left forward eye, the one closest to the left side of his snout, picked up movement to his left. On the opposite bankside, within the forest, he could see foliage move and shake as something large moved through it. All six of eyes focused on the moving anomaly, and with a more focused view he could clearly make out the horrid shape of a large wolf's head with the great horns of a stag. It was a good enough distance away, but Jaune suddenly felt very weary of their vulnerable position. Zwei himself was shifting uneasily, as if he sensed something as well.

"Everyone! Time to go home!" He called out, remaining vigilant of the opposite side of the bank. He ignored their groans of disproval as they stomped their way out the water. Their safety was paramount.

This time, as they trudged towards their home, Zwei lead the way while he took the position of rear guard. His three eyes narrowed as they found that the horned wolf head was looking in their direction.

Another Cursed one had found them.

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.

Their home was outlined in the setting sun, and the children rushed through the heavy gates and the tall walls that protected the manor, Zwei hot on their heel. The Accursed merely ignored their behavior and proceeded to look up the gate. Right next to the heavy doors was a key pad, and with the correct combination of numbers, a translucent light blue field began to cover the entirety of the property. A heavy duty energy shield.

He nodded his head in approval, before his six eyes caught sigh of the sign that hung above the key pad. Made out of wood and with golden letters, he trailed his claws against their smooth surface. It brought him an unfamiliar feeling that left a nasty pit in his stomach and a pounding headache.

Swiftly he turned away and entered their home, ignoring the welcoming sign to the Arc Manor.

.

.

"Did you wash behind the ears?" Lærer asked her as Nora dutifully wiped her hair off with a towel. She did in fact wash behind the ears and had gotten a fresh pair of pajamas on. Lærer had taught her about monster that would eat her if she was dirty and she would not let that happen.

Her caretaker looked her once over and nodded in approval. Excitedly, she rushed down stairs to the dining room, where the rest of her family was. Of course they weren't actual family, they didn't look like one another, but they did stuff that families did so that made them a family.

The dinner table was covered in plates and platters of delicious food while everybody was seated around the large table. She quickly took her spot between Blake and Ruby and she quickly prepared herself for dinner as she put her napkin in her lap, as the figurehead of their group taught them.

"Nora is Professor coming?" Weiss asked anxiously as the steaming food in front of them tempted them mercilessly.

"Yeah I want to eat.", Blake said eagerly, her ears twitching with excitement, as she eyed the plate filled with fish stick. She had special ordered it from Lærer, who has head chef, delegated it to his two sous chefs for the night, Yang and Ren. He had assigned Weiss, Blake, and Pyrrha to setting the table, and for her and Ruby to put away all their supplies and groceries into the vast underground storage areas. Initially she had found them scary, but with a few dozen lights and open space, they had turned it into her favorite area of the house.

"I already told you all that you could eat ahead of me.", their teacher and authority figure informed them as he made his way to his seat.

"But Mr. Arc were family! We have to wait for you.", Ruby protested as Lærer sat himself at the head of the table. He gained a pensive look, which she found herself wondering how he could pull it off.

"Yes. I suppose you're right. We are family. You may begin to eat then."

And with those words, Nora and the rest of her family fell upon the hot food with relish and fervor. Ren had piled his plate high with fruits and a selection of different food items. Ruby was hungrily munching away on a grilled cheese, Pyrrha and Weiss were both taking slices from a whole grilled chicken, and Blake was of course was hoarding fish sticks. That left her and Yang clashing over pizza slices, which of course, as queen, she was winning.

All the while, Lærer sat on the sidelines, not eating but content with watching them enjoy themselves.

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.

.

He could hear Yang and Nora's loud snoring come through the walls as they slumbered away in their separate rooms. The children had all tired themselves out from their game night and had gone to bed on their own accord. They were lucky indeed that everyone else was heavy sleeps or they may have problems.

His claws trailed over several articles and pieces of evidence that he had compiled over the years. They're were reports, scrolls, data collections, and identity cards that he had scavenged over the years. The Accursed fingered a certain autopsy however, with what felt like lightning as he read it over and over again.

Jaune Arc. Age 8. Murdered.

His six eyes, glowing like blue suns, narrowed as they focused on the picture of a smiling, blonde hair boy. The mere image burned in his mind and a cold hard truth pierced his heart.

_'You know who that is, Jaune. The greatest sin.'_

The words were familiar but there was a falseness to it. Something was wrong with the entire situation. His lost memories and his position with these kids added to a great conspiracy. He tossed it away before he lost himself to the idea any longer.

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He found himself outside, his cloak wrapped around him as a shadow darker then night. His sword hung beside him, a relic of the manor he had come to live in. His one mission of the night had come and that was to slay the other Cursed one.

The dark of the night meant little to him, as he forged forwards to the river. All the while, he lost himself to the voices of the night.

_'Jaune'_

_'Jaune'_

_'Jaune'_

It was the same word or name. Yellow in the old language of Mistral or the name of the boy who had been murdered. The name of the boy that his mind told was his own identity.

_'Jaune'_

_'Jaune'_

_'Jaune'_

It continued on which was both maddening and yet reassuring. Like he was confirming his own insanity. The voices disappeared suddenly which alerted him to another presence in his vicinity.

The other Accursed was nearly seven feet tall, including his antlers. The harsh and boorish skull of a wolf stared at him with eyes of yellow. Those fangs were stained with black essence, indicating it had devoured a soul recently. It was vaguely humanoid, with the basic structure of human body, but with its body covered in a forest of black fur and with limbs that were just as long as his body.

**"You hide them. Where are they." **It commanded in a grating voice. Its hunger and the curse had driven it made. What ever humanity left had been eroded away.

"They are mine. You will not touch them."

**"Share. I only take smallest. Give them."**

"Never."

**"Sin Father would not condone this. You are greedy." **It hissed, as the black furs raised in a threatening matter. Its bony claws were flexed in an aggressive manner. The dragon skull merely drew his long sword from its scabbard in a practiced motion.

**"You fight with the weapon of cattle. You are a strange one. I will bring you to Well for answers."**

The wolf bounded towards hims with full intent to harm him while he prepared himself for the long, arduous responsibility of putting down a cursed.

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.

The skull of the horned wolf found itself crushed in between the dragon's teeth. The rest of its body twitched as a blade found itself imbedded harshly within it. It did not bleed though. It only oozed black grease.

He retracted his fangs from the crushed head of his foe and threw it aside. It was already dissolving away, foaming up as it and its body dissolved away. All that remained was the broken and unhealthy form of a human skeleton, the curse having malformed it to a hideous degree. It had already eaten all of the human flesh, replacing it with its own diseased form. The own tears in his flesh and the claw marks on his own skull were slowly being mended by his unnatural affliction.

He tossed away the remains into a pile. At this point, he no longer had the pity to bury all of his slain foes. The Accursed just wanted to go home. His children would kill him if he missed breakfast.

**End First Chapter**

**Lordofire here with another dabble. This one is a bit of an experiment and Im paying homage to a certain novel with this one.**

**If people like this, Ill continue this which is the same thing did with my other story. If it doesn't make sense in some ways, I'll tell you its intentional as it is a bigger mystery.**

**Please review your thoughts.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The lordofire**** here. Thanks for the support on the first chapter. Hope you like this one.**

It was a cold fall night. The one that brought families together in the living room with a warm fire and for them it was no different. Jaune enjoyed these nights -the maddening voices and repetition had left him to use it has his name- with all the children and himself sitting by the fire. They usually did different things but they were together in the huge living room.

They had taken great liberty to try and make it as comfortable as possible. Great stacks of pillows, blankets and various mattresses were sprawled everywhere, chaotic but neat. On the ground and around a particular mattress, a plan to conquer Remnant was unfolding.

"I use Great Leviathan! Your naval forces are destroyed!" Ruby shouted as she put down one of her many game cards in order to stymy Yang's advance. With Vale's pre-war patrol force wiped out, she could finally implement her own patrol in order to put pressure on both Mistral and Atlas.

"Not so fast Ruby. I use Valean War Force to dominate your patrol force and force Atlas to give me some of their taxes.", bombastic Yang said happily as she put down her own card.

"You're a fool Yang. I have my passive card Technological Supremacy in play. You can't touch me with your meagre forces.", Weiss boasted as she lorded over them from her position on Atlas.

Yang growled as her own plan was foiled. "I'll get you next time Weiss. You don't have enough men to stop me."

"Thats why you have me around Weiss! Just cough up the coin and my forces are yours.", Nora said cockily from her side on Mistral. She had devoted her entire game and resources to building the largest and most powerful army in the world. In exchange, her economy was in shambles and her technology was basic at best. So she had set up shop as a mercenary army.

While they played their game of conquerors, Accursed Jaune found himself playing chess with both Weiss and Pyrrha. They had taken to team up against him as his opponent. They whispered plans and consulted each other on every move that was made.

'What do we do now?'

'I don't know_._'

It was unfortunate that they were still not very good at the game. It was their choice and the dragon skulled-cursed was forced to oblige. If if meant they were happy, then he was happy. Ren was busy sleeping in a secluded corner of the living room. It was late after all and the boy did like keeping his schedule on time and orderly.

One the opposite side, he could spy Blake's twin amber eyes with his six blue ones. Out of all the children, it was Blake that had made a pillow fort. She had constructed it near the fire - not close enough to let it burn- for maximum warmth and was reclining within her place of solitude. That is until she called out.

"Sensei. The fire is dying.", she said her eyes focused on the dying logs and the red ember. The underlying message was clear that she didn't want her fortress to get any colder.

Jaune nodded and before he stood up, proceeded to checkmate Pyrrha and Weiss with a single pawn, leaving them flabbergasted and flailing to understand how he had beaten them.

Gingerly, he stepped over the children, as they were too focused on their game, and went over to the large fire place. He placed several more logs onto the burning remains and clutched a large fire dust crystal from a box that was safely placed on the mantle. Over the fresh firewood he held it out, and with his black claws, crushed it like it was nothing.

His hand burst into flames as the potent dust mixed with the air and it combusted in his hand. Casually, as if he weren't on fire, he released his hold on the shattered dust crystal and watched as they fell upon the fire wood. The Accursed merely shook off the flames, revealing his hand unaffected and not burnt in the slightest.

"I wish I could do that.", Yang pouted glumly. "It must be so cool to be a curs-"

"No Yang. It isn't.", he cut her off sternly, making all the kids stare at him. It had been a long time since he been commanding and authoritarian.

"It is a curse for a reason." Six eyes of blue stared at the fire, mimicking the flames.

"You'll turn to a hideous monster. No longer human." Twin tails of black flesh and bone twisted and turned in the air like snakes. The bony armor that covered both of them rattled as they shook and quivered in the air.

"A brain dead beast that is one with the night." A great skull's fangs grounded together and the thin black flesh that helped it move and bite convulsed like a liquid disturbed. The fire seemed to flinch away from him, as his shadow ate away at it, unbeknownst to the children.

"So when you encounter a Cursed, always run. Never hide or you'll become something like me.", he said as he presented his tall form to them. A being that could never become human and would hunt their souls.

They all remained quiet under their teacher's gaze and after his harsh lesson. Though he slackened himself as they watched their saddened gazes. Even Ren had woken up to experience his lesson. Thankfully, the ringing of the oven saved him.

"I'm sorry. I just want you all safe. Come on. The cookies are ready.", he said and he lead their way to the kitchen. They had brightened up at the thought, but they were still reserved. That wouldn't due. It would eat at him for a while to know that his charges were upset.

The kitchen was large, which was fitting for the rest of the house, and in the over were nearly four dozen specially made cookies. They all pulled out the tall counter seats and awaited patiently as he pulled out the two trays of cookies out of the oven - without protective glove- and placed them on the cold stove above.

They were large cookies, filled with immense amounts of chocolates and marshmallows, and they were accompanied by mugs of hot chocolate that were divvied out evenly. Such was the evening snack on a cold autumn night.

Hungry munches and parched sips were all the sound that was made for several minutes and Jaune had thought that they were just too devoted to their meal to talk. He was wrong of course. They were staying silent in order not to anger them. He would have to resolve this situation in a way that did not use food.

"Would you like me to sing?"

All their heads turned in his direction at his offer. He did not sing very often.

"Really?" Nora asked excitedly as she finished her cookie. His dragon skull nodded in answer and his six eyes watched as they all leaned in to listen. His fanged maw opened and a churning within released his song upon them.

It had no words. It was far deeper then that. It was a natural thing that could not be practiced or taught. It was like the wind.

Indecipherable, cryptic, and earnest, a lullaby for the doomed. Even the lights and the roaring fire seemed to dim and darken. The whole world seemed to become more shushed and foreign. It was just him and the children.

They all seemed to be asleep as the song rolled over them. They were at peace and absolutely quiet as to not ruin the moment or his attempt make things up to them.

Jaune closed all his eyes as he tried to remember the melody. It had always been with him, since his first awakening in the forests outside the manor to when he first soothed the children's first nights here. When they had nightmares and were frightened by him, he had soothed them with his song, though singing for long amount of time had tired him out quickly.

A memory perhaps from before his turning.

Eventually it stopped and when he opened his eyes, it revealed all of the children seemingly more lively. They looked happy and energetic. He had succeeded in bringing their hopes up.

"I always liked that song Professor. You should sing more.", Weiss complimented as it seemed that she, of all of them, liked it the most.

"Maybe once in a while. I'm not as good as I used to be.", the dragon answered honestly. It was true. Before he had found them, those winters ago, he had used to sing in his lonesome. It served him no use, but to give him some purpose and some way to kill the loneliness.

"Can you teach me to sing then?" She asked politely but timidly.

"You want me to teach you? Why?" He wondered. He was sure they could find some singing scenes in the many movies they watched.

"But you're already my Professor.", the white haired girl pointed out with her solid childish logic. His six eyes stared at her own two before he relented.

"Alright I'll teach you."

They all seemed to be happy at his decision.

.

.

The living room was littered with their sleeping bodies. It was a mess of pillows and blankets, as before they had gone to sleep, they had thrown a large pillow fight that he had decided not to partake in. Now they were all passed out and slumbering.

Gingerly, he threw a blanket on a sprawled out Ruby and Yang, gave a squirming Nora a pillow to hold, made sure Weiss wouldn't wake up in a sweaty mess by shifting her mattress out of the fire's heat, built a pillow box for Blake, and positioned Ren so that he would not be disturbed by any loud snoring. Zwei himself had curled around a dozing Pyrrha, who tonight seemed not to need help.

With their sleeping arrangements finished, Jaune pull himself up and marched to his study on the second floor.

Without their presence, the very manor he called home seemed to change. It was cold, dark, and abandoned. Each floorboard creaked under his heavy foot step and the shadows moved across the walls. Though they quailed under his six eyed glare.

He was far scarier then a mere shadow.

His study was barred from the kids by a large heavy door, locked by another key pad. Claws tapped in a number code that he had no reason or memory of knowing, and he entered into his dark study.

To call it a mess would be an understatement.

Books, scrolls, and papers laid a strewn everywhere. The bookcases were covered in more material then they were supposed to carry and he had put multiple desks in the large room to act as additional support for his material.

He cracked a small chip of fire dust and threw the activated flame onto his own fire place to give him more light to see. This fire was not comfortable like the one roaring bellow. It was a dying flame that sputtered and embered easily. Just how he liked it.

His main desk was positioned right next to a large white board that had several messages scrawled on it. It made for an easy place to take down notes and his findings.

Twin tails snaked around two markers and gave it to him as he sat down at his desk, staring at the board and what was written on it.

**Cursed **

**-Once human**

**-Hostile**

**-Regeneration**

**\- Always searching**

**\- Maddening**

**-Loss of memory**

**-Crush the skulls**

His eyes narrowed as they focused on the 'Maddening' word. Brief flashes of a forgetful time came to mind. Perhaps he had gone mad, he had forgotten it though. All his memories seemed to start when he found the young ones in the abandoned town. He didn't even remember finding or living in this house.

Yet, these findings and the material in here was older then those memories.

Maddening indeed.

Everything below that he did remember writing though. He had based it on his own loss of memories. It seemed stable now, but he could not afford for him to forget like he before meeting Ruby and the others. Such forgetfulness could prove disastrous.

Crushing the skulls referred to his time when he went out to hunt other Cursed ones. The one he had slain not only a couple days ago had not been his first nor his lasts. Ever since he taken to caring for the abandoned children, the number of Cursed at increased, so he had taken it upon himself to slay the abominations. He had found, after several encounters, that the head, even with its skull protection, was the weak link.

A black claw pushed away the board before turned to the material he had gathered on his desk. The autopsy report was passed aside with to reveal a large map of Remnant laying beneath, while the rest, journals, newspapers, and the such was thrown aside.

It was a large, used thing, with marks all over and entire continents were scrawled out in black ink. Mistral, Vacuo, Menagerie,and Atlas were the incorrect continents, which left the only suitable one left as Vale. A second map was placed over the first, revealing an even more detailed map of Vale.

Certain areas had been crossed out with black ink, while other suitable areas had been circled. Figuring out their exact position had taken months of breaching scrolls, checking landmarks and visiting other cities, villages, and settlements. All of which had been abandoned.

Which meant, that they were currently at the outskirts of the ruined town of Canvas, situated at the Frontier Zone and over a hundred miles to the east of the Capital, where would be the strongest presence of clean humans and Faunus.

However, with Canvas having been abandoned for at least two years, and the nearby city of Rook, the one they had visited the most recently, having been lost as well, that meant that the Valean Wall had fallen. The huge wall that protected the major countries were imperative to the defense against the Curse.

No wonder they had seen so little survivors. There were little to no where left to go.

'_Then why were you here_?' He wondered to Jaune and himself as he pulled out the wrinkled autopsy report. It had stated that Jaune Arc had perished two years ago, the exact time Canvas fell. If the city had fallen, then there would have been no way they would have been able to process it. Something was wrong, missing. A puzzle with a big chunk of the pieces taken out.

Two years it had been like this. Piecing together the bigger puzzle, while he had the children to care for. A madness that was the only thing that staved off the Cursed insanity.

But they would need to go soon.

The oldest possession the children had wasn't the clothes they had they had no idea about it. A single note left with them, that he had found on the ground, when he found them those many moons ago.

_'Bring them to Vale on the 31st day of December of 4X14. If I am dead, there will be others to receive them. Keep them safe.'_

It had been urgent, written in ink in a messy handwriting that denoted panic. It was the only thing that linked them to humanity. Their key to leaving him and going home.

The thought alone left a sizable pit somewhere in his body, but he crushed it. This was good for them. He had cared for them for two years, and he had gotten lucky. A simple mistake could doom one of them to an eternity of insanity. Now he could get them to safety and he could be left alone. Left alone to lose himself.

Such was his fate.

He placed his large skull in his hands as a pounding headache took over.

'_What do I do?_' He wondered to the Gods that had surely abandoned him. He didn't want to lead them on, but he also didn't want to lose himself again. To lose all his thoughts and memories would kill him inside.

His breathing became erratic at the thought. Fear's familiar taste permeated his mouth as panic began to set in. It was rousing the cursed dragon that ate away at his plagued soul.

**Knock.**

He sucked in a surprised breath as the sudden intrusion. Saved once again by of one of his. They must have had a night terror. Good. They weren't the only ones.

Some tea would do them both good, even if he couldn't taste it. It would give him something to focus on.

Instead he found Ren looking up at him, in a chef's hat and apron that were much too large for him. He even had flour on his hands and his face.

"Ren? What are you doing so late at night?" He asked at the peculiar sight. In return, the pink eyed boy gained a surprised look before he, in turn, responded.

"Sensei. Its already morning. I came to get you to help with breakfast.", he answered honestly and truthfully. Jaune's six eyes widened in shock before he whirled around to peer into his dark room. The fire he had set up, what had only felt like several minutes ago, was only dark soot and ash, not a single detail of firey life in it.

Even in the hallway, he could see that morning's light was entering through the various window in the manor. The sounds of laughter and the happy barks of Zwei called out from below, signaling they were awake. It was indeed morning.

"Are you alright Sensei?" He asked as Jaune must have looked quite peculiar looking all round in surprise.

"Yes.", he lied. "Yes. Just fine. I must have lost trace of time. I'll be down in a moment. Go ahead and start cooking. I trust you.", he said. Ren nodded eagerly and dashed down the stairs, eager to start cooking.

Jaune stared into the dawn from the window, before he entered his study once more.

Six eyes, cursed and blue, stared down at the map, autopsy, and the message. Black claws crushed a heavy set book into a bundle of canvas and paper.

_'Another day perhaps.'_

.

.

Something was wrong with Mr. Arc. He was more quiet then usual and he didn't even to pretend to eat breakfast with them. A sunny side egg was crushed between his fangs, but he gave no intention of wiping the runny yolk that was seeping through his mouth. They already knew he didn't have to eat, but they as a family had forced him to at least pretend to eat it, even though it did nothing to his stomach.

His six eyes were focused on her siblings as they ran around the dining room and kitchen, cleaning up and putting away everything from breakfast. It was the first time they were doing it without him.

"They haven't messed up yet.", Ruby said supportively as she watched Pyrrha carry a huge stack of plates that threatened to spill out. She, herself, was happily munching away at a stack of strawberry pancakes. Ruby even managed to dab away the remnants of egg on his face with a napkin, careful not to touch him.

"Whats the matter Mr. Arc?" She asked childishly looking up at him with wide silver eyes.

He seemed to pause for a moment: thinking. He did a lot of that, but thats what made him the smartest and their teacher. Silence permeated between the two of them for several long seconds, and for a moment, Ruby feared she had angered or upset him.

"I'm scared."

She blinked at him for such a trivial thing.

"Why are you scared? You're big and scary!" She responded.

"There are things bigger and scarier then me.", he answered as he gazed away to look at something she couldn't see.

"Well you have us! We can help!"

"You'll leave me soon enough for the big world. You're all growing up."

Ruby remained stunned as her father figure delivered her such bad news. "But were family."

"Indeed.", he whispered almost defeated.

"Then lets make the most out of it! Lets do all the fun things now! Then we can remember them all when we get older! Those will never leave you." , she exclaimed as she tried desperately in her own child's way of doing things.

Six eye stared back at her, seemingly evaluating her.

"You're right. Perhaps its time.", he whispered, most likely to himself, but with the skull the such a large size as his it wasn't easy.

"Hmm?" She hummed through a spoonful of pancakes.

"We will be going on a trip soon.", he answered as he in turn dabbed her face carefully to wipe away the strawberry sauce. She gained an incredibly happy, but with a finger to his lips, he quieted her down.

"I said "may". Keep it a secret. I'll see you during training."

Ruby nodded her head up and down happily as she rushed to also help put her own dishes away.

.

.

Nora roared as she brought up her massive warhammer and swung down on the dummy's head. There was groan of wood creaking before it snapped in half, the top half of it flying off, as the dummy was sent to the ground. It's head was crushed and the warhammer's head imbedded itself into the ground.

"Ahhhh. I broke another one!" Nora complained as she threw away another broken crochet mallet. A stack of them were gathering in the corner, and were it not for their use as firewood.

"I told you that you can't just swing it with all your might. There has to be technique and impact. Observe.", Jaune offered as he gripped a mallet of his own. He positioned himself in front of another training dummy. He breathed in and steadied himself, balancing himself on long legs.

And with a one handed swing, decapitated the dummy in a swift vicious strike. Its head soared away several yard, where it fell in an ungraceful heap. His mallet wasn't even dented in anyway. It was a clean swing. Nora, herself, was left speechless at his display and only gained a determined glint in her eyes.

"You're so strong Lærer! It isn't fair!" She proclaimed as she surveyed the ruined target.

"What do you mean? This drill is not all about strength, it also includes proper knowledge and wisdom.", he answered back as he placed down the instrument.

"Thats easy for you to say. You're the smartest and strongest person I know!" She complained.

"Nora you don't know that many people."

"Humph. You don't know that many people either. You may be the best person out of all of them.", She said defiantly, glossing over the huge fact that he was cursed and he was a monstrous eight foot tall Cursed One with the skull of a dragon and two long tails.

"Thats very kind of you to say Nora. Now get back to training. I'll go check on the others.", he said.

She nodded and took up the mallet and began clobbering another dummy senseless, but this time she had a more practiced swing to it. His dragon skull smiled before he walked off to let her work.

_'These children sometimes make me wonder who the real teacher is._

On the other side of the Arc Manor, all he could hear was heavy clanking of metal and the laughter of other children.

Short Ruby, was running around with the top half of a metal cuirass hiding most of her body, and a large helmet covering most of her face. Its long chain mail sleeves trailed behind her as she ran away from everyone else, who wore similar suits of armor that greatly weighed them down as they continued their game of tag. Eventually, Ruby tired and all one could see was a still upper half of a metal suit, breathing in and out, with a crooked helm and a patch if red hair peaking out. Then with a large breath of fresh air, she began laughing again and ran off, truly not knowing where she was going.

Ren seemed to be the most out of place in the heavy armor, as he was the one lagging behind the most, along with Weiss. He had to lift his helmet several times in order to see and his face was coated in sweat.

"Ren! Go ahead and take it off.", Their teacher said, and with a great sigh of relief, the pink eyed boy threw off the cuirass with a defiant crash and he instantly fell upon the grassy hill in a gasping mess. Weiss followed close behind and fell face first into the grass, not even trying to remove the armor and only to have removed the helmet.

Everyone else seemed fine. They were carefree as the wind, and were enjoying their game, completely forgetting their supposed exercise. He didn't have the heart to tell them to go back to their drills. They were having too much fun or were too tired to carry on.

And as he observed Pyrrha and Yang crash into each other with full impact, laughing all the way, and watched as Blake tried to sneak away, her armor ditched, he felt at peace. Not even Ruby, running into his leg distracted him.

She merely tipped over on her back, struggled like a turtle would, before she managed to lift the visor of her helmet and look up at him. A wide smile broke out across her face that seemed to brighten in the sun.

He couldn't help but smile back.

Fun times indeed.

As she managed to stand up with the oversized training equipment, Jaune moved to take it off of her. With a single grasp, he lifted the metallic suit off of her in a single move, her diminutive size making it quite easy to do.

"Perhaps some ice cream should be in order?" He asked kindly at his pupils.

"Really?!" He heard Nora gasp from behind, not even caring how she had heard it from so far away. He simply nodded. They all gasped in delight and they began to take off their training armor and make a beeline to the house.

The Cursed merely kept pace with them.

.

.

It was an enjoyable event that they all greatly loved. Sitting at the high counter at the kitchen, with fancy ice cream parlor glasses and spoons at the ready.

They were already filled with three scoops of vanilla ice cream, and each child set about making there's utterly unique.

Ruby's was filled with chocolate chip cookie crumbs, strawberry sauce, and a good helping of whipped cream.

Weiss had an elegant sundae, with a good balance of chocolate sauce, peanuts, a dollop of whipped cream, and a single maraschino cherry.

Blake had made him concoct a blue sauce, using a combination of molten marshmallow and blue food dye, and an array of colored fish gummies to make a virtual sea full of fish.

Yang treated herself with a sunrise of strawberries, orange sauce, and one sliced orange that resembled a sun. A strawberry sunset she had called it.

Pyrrha had seemed to pile in everything chocolate she could into her dish. Sauce, bars, sprinkles, cookies, and even a chocolate straw. Strangely, she did not want to substitute the vanilla ice cream for chocolate. She claimed she didn't like the taste.

Nora had seemed to make a makeshift ice cream sandwich using two waffles. Nothing more needed to be said. Except she used both normal and chocolate syrup.

Ren had several leaves of soothing mint as well as a very small amount of the favorite chocolate sauce. His seemed to radiate an air of professionalism and chilled calm.

It had been a struggle to get it all right, but it proven worth it in the end as he gazed at their happy expressions. Nothing could ever substitute this feeling or memory. It was one of those happy moment he would always remember.

The fear of madness and being alone left him. What use was worrying about such trivial things when the going was good now. There was no need to think ahead when there was nothing he could do. All that could be done would bring an archive of good memories to wait it out.

Perhaps he would be fortunate enough to have his final memories be of them and happier times.

Especially at this moment, as the children snuck behind him and presented him his own sundae. It was a monstrous thing, with an array of condiments from all of their own treats mixed into one. Yet, it left a sense of utter warmth in him as they handed it to him. He wouldn't be able to enjoy it or even taste it, but it gave him a different sense of delight that he would relish.

A memory this was not. This was now a mural painted into the back of his head. Always there. Always for his eyes no matter what.

**Hope you guy enjoy this chapter. Its a pleasure to write for this one as I edit my other story. Please review!**

**And congratulations to the person that guessed it. Its a lovely story that is sorely under read. **


	3. Chapter 3

**lordofire**** here. Hope you guys enjoy this one! And the novel I based this off of is the 'Girl from the Other Side'. An amazing manga that is sorely underrated. Give it a read and share it! **

Educator was the greatest person Pyrrha had ever known. He was wise, strong, and courageous; he was everything she wanted to be. She didn't care that he was Cursed or that she couldn't touch him. A father figure for the one that she no longer lived with.

Of course she remembered her old family. They were always at the back of her mind. Hazy images of tall figures with emerald eyes and red hair like her. Her parents were always a sore subject for her, as it was, for everyone. Though Educator was an exceptional replacement. An excellent father in his own right.

She didn't remember a lot from her time in Mistral. It was very cold and she always liked to play in the snow with her family. It still snowed in Vale, and arguably she had even more fun with her sisters snd brother.

"Ruby why do you call Educator by just his name? Why not come up with a cool one like the rest of us?" she asked Ruby as they played a new scroll game on the Scroll Screen. Ruby sat to her right, rapidly pressing her Scroll controller in order to defeat the enemy. Ren sat to her left, also playing, but looking rather calm as he did so.

"I think Mr. Arc is a cool name.", Ren defended as he pulled off a brutal attack on the hostile force. Zwei happily pranced around the couch, just happy and content there were people around.

The younger girl stayed silent for several moments, either thinking or too interested into the game to comment right away. The other two were silent as they enjoyed the game. Occasionally, they could hear Yang and Weiss's laughter upstairs as they had went up to do each other's hair. Despite there many differences, they had one thing in common. Trying to look their best. Blake and Nora were helping Educator in the kitchen, but despite their roles in there, it would seems as though it was him doing all the work.

"Lærer? What about this?" They heard her excited voice from even there.

"Nora you can not put mayo and peanut butter on a sandwich.", he responded easily. The mere thought of such a sandwich almost made Pyrrha gag.

"Blake. Raw fish and bread do not mix. We've had this conversation before!" His exasperated voice carried out from the kitchen, causing them to giggle.

Through her giggles and her enjoyment, Ruby managed to get out, "I actually never thought about it. I've always just called him by that. What should I call him?" she asked excitedly as they finally managed to beat the level. With Pyrrha with the top score of course.

"Hmmmmm." she hummed as she thought of her answer. When she had started calling him Educator, it was because she had the upmost respect for him. Educators in Mistralian customs were revered as the best of the best. They were the ones tasked with raising the next generation of heroes and future Educators. They were usually the wisest and sometimes strongest of their groups, and thus the best of the best.

"Come up with a name that means the most to you. The one person that you hold above all else. Thats how all of us named him.", she answered honestly.

"Indeed. Sensei is incredibly kind and wise. He has raised and protected us for many years now. We owe him everything." Ren confirmed. He was. He had brought them to this wonderful home, fed them, given them anything they needed. He could be strict, but it was for their own good. They couldn't have asked for better.

Ruby gained a pondering expression that showed off the incredible thinking of a seven year old girl. It followed them all the way through lunch. Even when she was given her favorite sandwich, a turkey sandwich with mozzarella cheese with the crust cut off, she still remained quiet and in deep thought.

Pyrrha just hoped she had given her younger sister too much to deliberate on.

.

.

Jaune washed the plates with care before he steadily gave Ruby a plate to dry. The rest of the children had gone out side with Zwei, being their caretaker, to play after lunch. A daily activity that would be followed by a nap. Little Ruby would be helping him with the dishes as her chore for the week.

This time, however, she remained silent and not her usual excitable self. That was the first sign that something was bothering her. He had even made sure that the sink was extra bubbly in order to please her. It had no affect on her, clarifying something indeed was bothering her.

"What's the matter Ruby?" he asked as his claws carefully soaked several cups in the sink. The young girl seemed taken a back for a moment, before she looked at him with a inquisitive look.

"Mr. Arc why did you save us all those years ago?" she questioned looking at him with the most serious look he had ever seen the young girl give. He visibly paused washing the dishes, allowing warm water to rush over his soapy claws. His entire head turned to look down at her, six eyes judging her.

Even more so, this wasn't the first time he had been questioned in such a manner. He would have expected the conversation from an older Pyrrha and proper Weiss had already asked him. The white haired girl was always the most studious of them.

"Well because I loved you of course.", he answered simply, but before he could ask where these questions had come from, she asked another one.

"You loved us all the way back then?" The question was unexpectedly blunt and sudden, especially from her of all people.

Well of course he didn't, he would admit to himself truthfully. Not has he did now, as if they were is own. How could one do so? But he wasn't insane enough or cruel enough back then to have not helped.

His breath hitched as he remembered the huddled children in a broken down van, dying in the snow. They had been forced together, some of them already unconscious from the cold. It had been poor Ruby, who he had stumbled across first. She apparently had tried to go out for help, only to fall unconscious, face first in the snow, barely alive.

Compassion took over and he had plucked her up by her clothing, careful not to touch her skin, and brought her back to them. So, cold and tired were they, they could barely move when his monstrous form entered the van. Not even fear could move them.

So, he had saved them. Gave them fire to warm themselves. Brought down a nearby deer for them to eat. Encircled the entirety of the abandoned vehicle to shield them from the remaining cold. The rest was history.

"Yes. Yes I did." he answered, not revealing the taxing memory he had just brought back up. Just the thought of their miserable, shivering forms made him shudder. He had kept the fire in the living room always going for a reason.

"That doesn't make sense thou-."

"Love doesn't have to make sense.", he interrupted her with his wise words. "When I saw all of you that winter, dying in that cold, I loved you. I loved you like you were my own family, which you are. Nothing will change that.", he said wistfully. It brought him a dulled warmth in his chest, seeing her take in his words.

"Even if you didn't like me at first, as long as you were safe, I was happy." he continued, remembering the first few days and weeks they spent together. They stuck together like glue and avoided him at all costs, only meeting him for food and meals.

"But why?" She pleaded, looking at him with silver eyes that yearned for a reason. He resisted the urge to hold her short ruby hair.

"Because you were just like me. Because you are my family.", he gave her his final answer. It seemed that his answer had satisfied her. They were just like him. Lost in a deep forest, and yearning for safety and warmth. He had brought them home, fed them, and cared for them. Not one day did he regret it.

Ruby was silent for several more moments, fidgeting wildly. The young girl was obviously in deep thought. So he gave her his own question.

"Why are you asking Ruby?" The Cursed asked kindly, trying his best to smile. Weiss and him had several 'classes' where she would be there to try and teach him to smile with such a menacing mouth. The results were mixed.

"I..as..ying...o..fin...me.", she mumbled quietly, embarrassed.

"Say again?" he insisted.

"I was trying to find a new name for you.", the small girl said louder.

_'Ohhhhhh. That explains it.' _He should have know that she was trying to find a new a name. She was the last one that hadn't named him yet. Before they had given him their names, they had used the more formal title of Mr. Arc.

It had been Blake, of all people, to name him Sensei. It apparently meant teacher in the faunus ancient tongue. Ren had followed her and also started calling him that. Of course the others teased him for not finding an original name, but he knew the boy. Ren was always patient and thinking to a fault. Both a strength and weakness for him.

"So have you thought of one?" he asked.

She shook her head for the negative before saying, "Not yet. But I'll tell you later okay?"

Jaune merely nodded in understanding and approval.

.

.

.

Sometimes he enjoyed breaks. He loved all of his children equally, but dome of them took more of his attention then others. No names would be mentioned however.

Thats why he enjoyed tea time with the two more quiet of his charges.

Weiss and Ren sat opposite from him, each with their own cup of tea. They sat in another unoccupied room, perhaps another study, but it was furnished quite nicely for these sorts of things. The chairs they sat it were more like couches, plush and comfortable and small, well made oak table carried their tea.

Today, it seemed that they would be going for a more sweet drink. Valean Orange Zest gave them the sharp citrus of the fruit, and with a certain amount of sugar and piping hot, it was akin to a more relaxing apple cider. Accompanying their tea, were freshly baked biscuits that perfectly complimented such a nice treat.

It was a shame that he couldn't taste it, but judging from their happy looks, it seemed it was appropriate for them.

"So, how have you two been?" He asked as his massive jaw drank from the fragile tea cup. It had taken months to practice holding and drinking from teacups and handling the fine china necessary for a good tea party.

"Ughhh. Blake has been stealing my pillows again.", Weiss complained as she daintily put down her tea cup. He believed her of course. Blake had the habit of taking other people's pillows in order to enhance her own bedroom. It made no sense to him of course, seeing as they had raided numerous stores, homes, and hotels for dozens of pillows. They nearly had two hundred in the huge storage spaces below.

"Yang keeps trying to exchange chores with me.", Ren confessed as he drank deeply from his more oriental tea cup. "She doesn't want living room duty any more, and wants sous chef now."

Jaune snorted at that. There was no deal on Remnant that would make him give up that job. But it was good that nothing major was bothering them. He had found that he'd actually have to sit them down and make them spill in order to learn anything.

"Professor we do really need to bring back more tea. Our supplies are getting dreadfully low.", the one girl informed him. "Plus we need more sugar for any baking we do as well."

"Hmmm. I had thought we had gotten enough sugar to last us through the winter. I wonder where it could have gone?" Jaune hummed as he teased his two children.

Weiss merely huffed in response. "We can't help that everything you bake is good."

"Flattery won't save your sweet tooth Weiss.", he laughed along with Ren. Of course Ren had his enjoyment in sweets as well, but he was always the most willing to eat his vegetables and fruits.

They sat there, in comfortable silence, enjoying the peace and quiet. It was too bad that everyone else was busy playing video games down stairs to enjoy it with them, but everything seemed right in this moment.

"Sensei, I was wondering though, could we go up north this weekend for our field trip?" the pink eyed boy asked. Usually, at least once a week, they would venture out on an adventure. It usually was meant for fun and supplies. Going up north however, brought the danger of more Cursed and purebreds. There was also the chance of rogue humans, but that was slim to none.

"May I ask why?" He questioned as he poured more tea into their cups.

"Ren and I agreed that we haven't ventured up North before. We think it would be fun to see new things.", Weiss intoned as she graciously accepted her filled cup.

He tapped one of his claws against his armored chin in thought. If he kept an eye on them they should be safe, and there were less dense forests up north. Plus, give them some armor, and some weapons and they wouldn't be defenseless.

"I'll consider it but under some conditions." Jaune confirmed as he put down his finished his tea cup. "You will make sure they are ready to go tomorrow. Make sure that everyone had their gear and is ready to go. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" They both responded happily.

.

.

"You will stick by side. You will do as I say. You may bring only one thing you want and as much as you need. You will stay safe. You will know where home is at all times. Do I make myself clear?!" The Cursed said as he looked down at his little soldiers.

"Yes sir!" They said as they mocked saluted him. All seven of them wore small military fatigues (they had found them in an abandoned costume shop), and they had tied down some protective plate in key areas. All of them also wore comically big soldier helms for head protection, so big in fact that Ruby's helmet fully covered her eyes. Even Zwei happily wore a small helmet, much in the style as Ruby, his eyes covered by the metal protection.

This was a common sight for them. It was a process that he had always drilled into them since their first outing into the wilds for exploration and supply runs. A necessary precaution for such a dangerous world. Ren and Weiss had done an excellent job in getting them all ready and prepped for their outing. That meant more time to explore this nice autumn Saturday.

Each of them was equipped with fire dust for light and heat, a bowie knife (he had deemed it important enough), and scrolls that would lead them back home. Nora and Yang had also asked him if they could bring their crochet hammers, which he relented to. A weapon was better then no weapon.

"Lets go.", he commanded. They all nodded and began marching in a straight line out of the garage, straight to the one entrance and exit of the Arc Manor.

.

.

He admitted, that going North seemed to be not as bad as he had thought. The forests had changed from the huge enormous pine tree that he was used to, to the more seasonal trees like oak and maple that were shedding their leaves everywhere. The floor had become a carpet of red, yellow, and orange dry leaves that crunched under their every step. It seemed clean and natural, untouched even.

The children thrived in this region. They tumbled through the leaves laughing, chased each other around and leapt from the branches above. Blake seemed to be almost attached to the trees as playful Zwei chased after her from below, eager to bring her down to play.

It was lucky that they had a large breakfast for such a long exploration. The roads that had once sprawled all over Vale, were now abandoned, and while still visible, were being slowly reclaimed by Nature. It made for a very somber but incredible sight.

They didn't mind though. They didn't see the destruction or anything out of place. To them, it was all natural. Their ignorance was bliss indeed.

The wind rustled the trees in a musical tune, that made the leaves drift to the ground. A flurry of shimmering autumn colors. It was almost unnatural how beautiful it was.

They had been out here already for several hours, merely following the large road northwards and enjoying all the sights. Granted there weren't many, but it was all in the journey that made it special. Though he would admit, there was a rather odd sensation in the air. Rather unpleasant indeed, but it was on a level the he couldn't quite explain. It was almost like it was rejecting his entire being, curse and all.

He pushed past it though, if not for the children. Perhaps it was just a sign of paranoia, something that had plagued him for the past years.

The broken stone roads however, were slowly turning into a dirt path that was flanked by aged wooden barriers and fences. The trees seemed to die down, and were replaced by more open plains. The destruction was still there though. Some fences were broken, the road itself was disturbed, and there were several wreckages around in the tall grass.

"Sensei! Look!" Blake said excitedly, her ears twitching. His six eyes followed the path of her finger as it lead down the road quite a bit away. They narrowed and the visual became clearer, revealing a rather plain looking wood cabin. It sat on a rather plain clearing, seemingly abandoned.

It was a rather plain building seemingly untouched despite supposedly being left by itself for at least two years. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it had been the first building they had seen for hours. Without a doubt, the children would want to visit it to appease their curiosity and to give their legs a rest. Thus, they found themselves walking ever closer to the structure, the children happily discussing between themselves.

"What do you think is inside?" Ruby excitedly asked as she played sword fight against Pyrrha with a tree branch, her large helmet making it hard for her to see and requiring her to push it up frequently.

"I would expect nothing. Its been years since everyone's been chased away.", Weiss said wisely as she stood as the line leader for the adventuring group for the day. Jaune had taken to the back of the line, acting as the rear guard. Plus he felt better keeping an eye on their backs as the general unpleasant feeling coursing through all of his body was becoming more and more powerful. Seemingly by magnitudes.

It would reach its crescendo soon enough.

The air in front of him shimmered suddenly, and before he could react, he found himself forcibly thrown back. A field of white of white runes suddenly pulsed to life, floating in the air and separating him from the children and Zwei, who seemed unaffected like him. They even continued on, as the fierce rejection hadn't made a noticeable sound and they had not seen him fly backwards.

"Children. Wait!" he commanded, stopping the troop of exploring young ones from going further ahead. They all turned to him, even Zwei turning his head in questioning as they saw him several paces behind them, not moving a foot forwards.

Tentatively, his claw reached out. he remained cautious as he did not want to have another volatile reaction as he just had. Unexpectedly, it was if the ground beneath him was etched suddenly by a myriad of unfamiliar runes that glowed a luminous white. His claws soon found themselves being repealed by a wall of runes and glyphs that latched onto his hand and sizzled as they made contact to his nightmarish flesh.

"Teach!" Yang gasped and the rest of the children began to panic as he retracted his hand and observed as the runes burnt deep into him, causing him to leak blackish grease instead of normal human blood. His sense of paranoia began to grow as he saw that the children were observing the the field of conjuration charms and were unaffected by the barrier like he was.

"What are these things?" Nora asked, as she attempted to smash it with her mallet.

The Cursed senses within him began to burn and all his eyes began to dart around as they began to pick up abnormalities all around them. The children and Zwei remained oblivious as they tried to dig at the symbols on the ground, to no avail.

Winds began to pick up around the trees and it began to dislodge hundreds of leaves, creating a cloak that he was incapable of peering through with his six eyes.

That didn't mean he couldn't hear though.

"Down!" He commanded sternly as a long staff collided in the air with his sword, creating a flash of energy from the hit alone. The end of it was tipped in a lage red dust crystal, and his attacker was wrapped in a large dark cloak that completely hid their form.

It hopped away as its initial attack proved a failure, before it once again moved on to the offensive. The staff moved like it was a whip and Jaune barely managed to parry each strike, each parry being meet with a small explosion. With a particularly strong counter attack, which came from him brutally overwhelming his smaller foe with the full might of his strength, the hood of the cloaked figure fell down, revealing a young woman with short brown hair and amber eyes.

Oh. So a bandit was it? Good. He need not hold back.

The staff twirled in one hand masterfully, displaying her skill and deadly usage of it as a weapon. The ancient sword his hand was assumed into a classic sword stance, one that would provide both defense and offensive capabilities.

"Run to the cabin! Hurry go!" The older woman shouted as she advanced at him once again, her strikes being as strong and as fast as the last. It took several moments as he hastily defended himself, that he realized that the woman was talking to the children. She was trying to take them!

With a powerful swing into his side, only blocked by his sword, the tall Cursed was forced away. This allowed the women to disengage from him swiftly and make her way to the children, much faster then any normal human should have been.

"Run!" The women screamed at them, and naturally, his young charges scrambled away from her, back into the barrier's grasp. That is until short Ruby tumbled over, a mere few feet from the shield, her protective gear dragging her down. Zwei had stopped to guard her, growling as the hooded woman rushed to her.

"Come on! Get up!" She screamed at her, the young child shivering in pure fear. It had the adverse effect intended as Ruby did not get up and run, but instead curled up and began crying loudly in fear.

"Mr. Arc! Mr. Arc help!" She squealed as she tried to scoot away from the attacker. He found his legs moving faster then they ever had as he fully attempted to bash through the shielded barrier, not caring as his body began to dissolve against it as he tried to brute force his way in.

Ruby's hysteria only grew worse as she struggled to escape the firm grasp on her arm that the amber eyed woman held on her. The young dog that tried to bite at the hand was easily knocked away, and she began to drag the struggling child away.

Silver eyes, blinded by tears, looked at him as she was slowly dragged away in the dirt.

"Dad! Dad! Daddy! Please don't let her take me!" His child bawled at him, begging him to save her. Those small eyes were focused on him. She was calling him.

Just like she did those years ago, in that snow, freezing to death.

Those same silver eyes looked up to him to be saved.

.

.

.

Madness returned briefly.

**Lordofire here. Once again another chapter! I hope you guys like it! Please review and tell me how this new writing style is! Its a new one and i hope you like it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four! Sorry for the long wait. Vacation was great. Hopefully got a lot writing done.**

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Amber's aura flared wildly as twin black tendrils wrapped around her body. Golden aura sizzled away at the curse ridden flesh though under such strain, she wouldn't last for another few minutes. She was then violently thrown away nearly twenty feet into the dirt.

The world became blurred as she shook her head. All around her, she could see that the incantation that she had spun begin to fail and the great barrier shuddered as a Cursed pierced it.

The great nightmare she had faced mere moments ago had become more horrific as it rushed through the barrier. Its flesh both burned and melted away, yet was birthed again in grotesque fashion. It was pearly white, deformed skeleton, that of some sort nightmarish dragon. The great sludge of molten black flesh hung around it like a ruined cloak.

A horrid nightmare of burnt, black flesh, hung over the young girl. It was like dripping grease, that killed the grass it fell upon. Her barrier had certainly left its mark on the Cursed. It's flesh was constantly being remade and destroyed in a matter of seconds.

It's horrid jaw had been split, and now it's maw contained three separate moving jaws. The top and the two diagonal ones, making the mouth look like a claw with harsh fangs on the inside

Yet, it did not infect the child. It merely positioned itself away from the crying girl, who was rapidly wiping away her tears to turn to the spectacle before her. None of its infected body came near, and it six eyes were focused on the small red headed child.

The other children were grouped together in a huddle a couple feet away from her, also staring at the morphing monster that had attacked them just minutes ago.

The split jaw opened up wider, revealing harsh bone structures that it was attached to and the ruined black sinew and muscle that connected it. If it were a natural creature it would surely be dead from the amount of rot and decay it was undergoing in such a small amount of time.

Then, from within, came a sound like powerful wind. A gust of sound that betrayed the the entirely unholy thing that sang like the wind.

Strangely however, the girl seemed more calm as she listened to its song.

Fear struck Amber that this Cursed one had undoubtedly learned how to put humans under its spell. That's why the children seemed so subdued. They were enchanted by its lullaby.

Her staff found her hand, and she hurtled towards the recovering monster like a star of pure lightning.

Before, it had been a large one. Bigger then most she had seen and much larger then any she had previously killed. Now in its more Nightmarish form, it was almost twice the side of her cabin. With broken fangs, and bones that doubled as claws, it was bristling with danger. That in turn, however, made it a larger target.

Lightning burst from the sky and struck its large right side, charring, destroying, and mutilating, already ruined flesh. It reared back, dazed, as the the girl let out a scared scream.

Once again, her staff impacted against its head, and she heard the satisfactory sound of bone cracking. The great beast's head snapped away from the force of the blow, allowing Amber ample time to swoop in. She landed right behind the girl, careful not to touch the dead grass or the receding fleshy liquid.

It seemed the little girl had other plans though.

Amber hissed as the little girl produced a large, sharp knife and weakly tried to prick her hand with it. Of course of all the people she could have saved, it had to be the scared senseless ones.

"It's alright! I'm here to save you!" She said loudly, as she easily grabbed her wrist and wrestled the knife from her. This girl was a fighter for sure.

"Nooo! Dad told me not to talk to strangers!" She cried out hysterically. "Yang! Weiss! Pyrrha! Help me!"

"Let her go!" "Yeah let her go bitch!" She heard several calls from behind her, though they found that the didn't move an inch from their spot as if frozen by fear.

"Will you all just calm down and shut up!" She screamed in frustration as she started to carry the struggling girl by her wrist as desperation set in.

She wanted to save these children with all her heart, but they were rapidly losing time. The issue of her own skin over theirs was rapidly warring in her head.

The Cursed made it for her.

It bounded over her, and like an elegant tidal wave, crashed down on her spot had she not let go of the girl and blitzed away. It moved, slithered, and wreathed in an almost water like way, but still wholly unnaturally.

It's body's bones broke and reassembled itself in a more formidable form. It created a veritable wall of haggard flesh and sharpened skeleton in a great shape of wings and claws.

It's anger was far more understandable now.

It's huge jaw, split and evolved to inflict as much carnage with a single bite. Serrated fangs, an array of curves mandibles, and the massive jaws that would crush, spear, cleave through her, came rushing at her.

Ancient magic bent in her blood, and from her hands came the natural power of Fall. Of tamed, dying heat, and the rising power of cold.

A literal storm was cupped in her hand and she unleashed it on her enemy. Sheer winds, arrow-like rain, and lances of lightning impacted against its mouth. Shreds of nightmare fell from its maw as her storm at away at it, but it seemed undeterred by it.

Sparks flew as her staff blocked a gigantic swipe from one of its great claws, and her heels dug into the dirt as she was pushed back several feet from such a glancing blow. Her arms still rattled from the previous hit when another came for her.

This time time she nimbly doges away before she slammed her staff down on the extended limb. One of its claws snapped in half as it retracted it, but it quickly was replaced. Six eyes narrowed ever harsher on her, a primordial anger prevalent in those blue voids.

It's entire body shifted, steam billowing from its body as its flesh body boiled away. Bones and sinew creaked as it's huge body began to thin and compress.

Within seconds, claws were melded with body, as the huge body of a serpent with huge bony wings was birthed from the congealed mess. If anything the huge jaws became even more prominent as its fangs and skull elongated and bulked up.

It hissed, and like lightning, began to encircle her area with its huge, mangled, serpentine body. It was very clear it wanted to crush her with its great bulk.

It coiled and coiled around her, unending darkness that threatened to swallow her world. It's dangerous jaws soon disappeared into the encroaching wall of its own body. Soon enough, as she breathed and collected herself, the very sky above her was blotted out by the prison that the powerful Cursed was constructing around her.

Then, like a trap, it was sprung.

Light was blotted out, she could feel the wind close in and her, and the sound of rushing flesh deafened her. It was closing in for the kill.

Her staff sparked as she began to twirl it around her, so fast and masterful that if one could see it, all they would see would be a complete circle unbroken and unmoving. It dug into the walls and kept them at bay as she began chanting her ancient magics. It was a tense, few seconds of utter concentration and her muscles screamed at her as the pressure on them grew ever stronger. Her staff, a constant in her life, let out great creaks as it too, took on great stress.

Then, when the meaning of the magic came to her, she unleashed it upon the world.

Fall.

Decay.

End.

It wasn't an element that she used. It wasn't as something as simple as dust. It was pure magic, from a time before Walls and Curse. It was the world's strength and it broke everything it touched.

Her foe was thrown away, most of it's body blown away and incinerated. The blast didn't kill it, but it sure did make it look like it was dead. Most traces of black flesh was evaporated, burned, or rent, leaving behind a mangled spine the length of several tall trees. Cruel bones poked out in every direction and they looked as sharp and as dangerous as any weapon. What flesh remained was found on the still moving head, and those six evil eyes remained ever vigilant of her as its body regenerated from basically nothing. If anything, it seemed that it's jaws were even more evil looking. Pure white, with steam and smoke slithering off of it like it came out of a demented oven.

Though it seemed she had come out worse for wear in the end.

Her precious staff now laid splintered and broken in her palms. Her hands, themselves, were burnt severely, unused to the sheer power she had thrown.

Darkness edged over her eyes and before she could protest or try to resist, she found herself on the ground passed out.

X.

X.

She let out a long gasp as she opened them again. Amber rose from her bed utterly broken. Everything about her hurt or was sore, her head especially, a clear sign that she had used all her aura and had broken it.

"Oh you're awake.", a child's voice called unexpectedly from her right. She let out a scream of surprise as she suddenly turned to find a young boy with obvious Mistralian traits staring at her, all the while she fumbled for a weapon she always kept under her pillow.

"Are you okay miss?" He said calmly despite how fidgety she was acting. "You've been put for a day now. We tried to bandage up your wounds as best we can. I followed Sensei's instructions to the letter."

Amber looked down at her hands to find them tightly bound by bandages that she recognized that she had stockpiled over the years. They seemed recently changed judging by how little blood there was.

The large window in her room, one that had previously filtered in sunlight and the one which the boy say beside, was now darkening.

Three blue eyes stared back at her as she turned to face the window. Three very familiar eyes that bled inhuman characteristics. She quickly dove for the child, and pushed him to the ground. Despite his protests.

"What are you doing?" He cried out as they both laid on the ground beneath the window sill where the Cursed had observed him.

"That's a Cursed One boy! It'll kill us all!" She shouted as she attempted to reach for the dust rifle that she kept under her bed while also trying to keep the boy pinned so he didn't get them both killed.

"I know that! That's Sensei!" The boy continued to protest as he wiggled out of her grasp.

"Sensei?!" Amber screamed in panic and utter confusion.

The rumbling of the ground beneath them brought their eyes to the window, where they saw the massive serpentine form of the nightmarish monster rear back. It had recovered from their short bout if barely. A thin film of black has covered its entire spine again, though nowhere as thick and robust as it had been before.

That didn't seem to matter to anyone though as it's still impressively terrifying jaws opened, extra mandibles opening as well to reveal hundreds of sword sharp fangs. Judging by how angry those blue eyes seemed though, it was willing to use every ounce of its strength to bring down her cabin.

"Wait! Wait! Sensei wait! It's okay!" He screamed out in panic as he opened up the windows after escaping her grasp. He began to wave wildly with both arms to showcase that he was indeed unharmed.

The winged serpent's mouth closed, like that of an elegant flower closing during winter and its eyes easily became much more friendlier. Though it seemed much more on guard as all the bony protrusions on its body began to jostle and shift to become more potent armor. It's head moved down in a way as though it was commanding the boy.

The Mistralian boy sighed and he turned his back on the window. The Cursed mouth moved down to the window and to Amber's surprise and bewilderment, gingerly picked up the boy with his frontal mandibles and lifted him out of the cabin with the up most care not to rip his clothes or hurt him.

The scene was so much like how a cat would lift one of its precious kittens by the scruff of their necks to carry them that it absolutely blinded sided poor young Amber. The serpent let him go on the grass outside her cabin, and with a wave of its huge head, nodded for the boy to scamper off. He did so grudgingly.

It turned to her next with eyes far less kind. It lowered its head to the window sill and uncaringly, pushed, harshly against it to fully observe her. All six eyes narrowed into her still sprawled our form, and his sharpened mandibles clicked their sharpened tips on his revealed fangs.

'Explain.' , echoed out of it, as if it was passing through a hollow chamber. 'Yourself.'

It was a quiet moment before Amber realized that it had just spoke modern Valean to her. She scrambled away from the window and didn't even wince as her window shattered under the strain of handling the large frame of the nightmarish creature.

"You can talk?" She screeched out as she pressed her back against the opposite wall.

It's mandibles clicked loudly and more of its skull began to steam as the pearly white of bone was covered by a thin film of black disease.

'Barely.'

'Destroyed.'

'Body.'

'Regrow.'

'Slow.'

It sounded out, inhuman mounts and inhuman teeth sounding their language.

"What are you?!" She hissed. It six eyes rolled day her.

'Cursed.' It sounded out.

'Name.'

'Now.'

Amber stayed silent as she continued to understand and decipher what she was seeing right in front of her. A Cursed, the ancient enemy of human and Faunus kind, was talking to her. They had been bred by the darkest heart to eradicate them and here it was, picking up children and attempting to hold conversation with her.

Speaking of...

"Where are the children?" She demanded. The large serpent growled at her, a sound that reverberated through its body and escaped through its fangs.

'Mine.'

'Answer.'

'Now.'

'Losing.'

'Patience.'

It sounded out each word, slowly and deliberately, either due to its inability to speak their language thoroughly or for her to understand its intent.

"My name is Amber. Just Amber.", she answered before she truly angered the demonic dragon.

It six eyes wandered over the entirety of her room all at once, and Amber felt even more vulnerable as two of its eyes focused on the dislodged dust rifle poking from underneath her bed.

'Alone?' It asked as it took on how small her cabin was. And it truly was. It was only her bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room. When it was only her however, it was space enough.

"Yeah. Haven't seen another human in awh-" Their conversation was cut short as a loud voice called to their attention.

"Lærer! Lærer! Ren told us that she was awake!" A very cheery voice proclaimed outside her window. The great bulk of the invasive nightmare prevented her from seeing her, but Amber could tell that she to be unhurt or uncursed.

The wooden frame do the windows cracked and snapped as its huge head and jaws wiggled out. The shrill crunch of glass breaking followed it as it fully removed itself from her window to peer down at the children that had disturbed their conversation. That meant it left Amber with a noticeably large hole in her wall that had just ruined the prospect of her cabin as a suitable shelter. The new opening in her home did reveal the child that had approached them however.

She was a short ginger dressed in what looked like a small army uniform and a matching helmet that covered most of her head. Both of her hands were held behind her back as if she was hiding something.

"Whoa! You destroyed her home! Lærer that's super mean!" She complained as she surveyed the broken wood and glass on the ground.

The Cursed merely gave a nonchalant wave of its jaw. Amber didn't even know how to feel as a monstrous cursed displayed such human emotions or the fact that it displayed utter disregard to the destruction of her house.

"I'm sorry ma'am that he destroyed your house.", the little girl bowed to her in an apologetic way. "But to be fair you did attack him first and then you tried to kidnap us."

Amber merely blinked at her, her head just as dull as a block at a moment.

"Attacked? Kidnap! Him?" She wondered out loud.

"Yeah! The fight was super cool though! You were like a wizard!" The girl boisterously said at her and Amber wondered what fight she was talking about as the only memory she had of the other children was them cowering away from the brutal battle.

"But Lærer! Look at what I found!" She told the great serpent and she presented to him one of her gourds that kept in her garden. The dawning feeling of fear, knowing that children were in her life giving guarded made her queasy to her stomach.

"We found this weird pumpkin in her farm! We need to grow these in our own!" The Cursed merely regarded her with eyes that betrayed all of its affection for her.

'Not.'

'Pumpkin.'

'Gourd.' It revealed to her with periodic human words as it-he, as the child had dutifully told her, that she was wrong.

"Is it good?" She asked him as if she were talking to her father.

'Can't.'

'Taste.'

'Don't.'

'Know.'

'He' slowly hissed, growled, and rumbled out making the still very lost, confused, and possibly concussed, Amber wonder why a monster would go out of its way and go through such an effort.

"What are you?" She whispered, but the dark senses of the serpent overheard her and three of its eyes focused on her.

'Jaune.'

'Arc.'

It sounded out. Amber felt remembrance of looking at local maps of the large land secluded off for the Arc family. One of theirs was a Cursed now? A taking and sensible one at that.

"It doesn't taste very good.", came the muffled voice of the life girl and both maiden and monster stared as her cheeks were puffed out as she had managed to take a massive bite of it, shell and all.

"Bleh!" She coughed it out and gave the gourd a disgusted look. She then presented to the Cursed serpent and Amber watched in a baited breath as its dangerous jaws lowered. The girl then proceeded to perilously jab it on one of its mandibles.

The great beast then lifted its head and began to chew it, like a father would with the food their children wouldn't eat.

At this moment Amber passed out on the ground.

X.

Yang hummed as she helped support the fainted girl they had found in the woods. At first they had found her scary since she did attack them, but Ruby has told them( after she had stopped crying) that she was actually trying to save them. They were skeptical but Teach has taught them never to lie so they believed Ruby.

That didn't mean they didn't take precautions.

Nora and Ren has taken to tying her down to the make-shift gurney they were using to transport her, which was basically her bed, and Pyrrha and Weiss were equipped with their knives. Teach had taken to drag her himself, though it was harder to do so when he was in his way cooler form.

It was hard to believe that such a scary person had come to save them so many years ago, but here he was, coated in great layers of blankets and carrying them back to their home.

Yang found to be incredibly awesome. Here they were practically riding a dragon to their castle and teach was way cooler then a dragon.

He was bigger, scarier, stronger, and had a way cooler bite. Plus he had bone armor! Only the badass used bones as armor.

She happily munched on one of the snack bars they had found in the cabin. The lady had been surviving for a long time and had hoarded a lot of stuff, so they had gathered them all and now they were all being ferried back by their gigantic chariot.

The sun setting behind them also cast an orange glow on them as they continued on their journey, which was much shorter now thanks to Teach. Ruby sat in her arms, as the shorter girl cowered in fear at the explosive speeds they were going. But they all knew that their caretaker would never put them in harms way. In this case, he was a literal gentle giant.

"Hey Ren!" She called out to the boy behind her. He looked up at her from the book he was reading and gave her his attention. "You were right! Going north is way more exciting then going for supply runs!"

He nodded happily and gave her a smile. "I told you! Plus this woman has some fascinating books. It's too bad I can't read most of them. I'll have Sensei translate them for me."

Yang merry hummed in agreement as she gave the rest of her bar to Ruby.

Nora and Blake has gotten the best seats sadly. The place upon his head had become a popular place and they had all tried to take it, but unfortunately the two girls had gotten their first and now sat on comfy blanket that covered most of Teach's dragon-like face, save for his frontal eyes, which he used to see.

It was a blast from the past for her. It had been years since they last went on a ride like this. Back then, their teacher hadn't been able to fit into their home and the only way he could cook for them had been for him to breathe fire on deer he had found.

It hadn't been too great then compared to now but Yang has always enjoyed it when he had taken them on his back for adventures. Whether it be flying through the sky or racing through the jungles.

Teach had always been there for them. Ever since that cold storm he had been looking out for them.

If there was one person on Remnant that Yang Xiao-Long wanted to be like, it was Jaune Arc.

X.

X.

Jaune was never one to hold grudges but he did take necessary precautions. So, it was him that Amber awoke to, coated in the shadows that a small candle they had lit couldn't reach. He made sure to leer at her with all six eyes, just to be sure to intimidate her.

His eye gazed down at Amber as she stared back at him. She seemed even more perplexed and wary now that she had woken up in a bed that didn't belong to her. Though, it seemed this time, she was more willing to talk.

"You caused us a lot of trouble.", he informed her his small dragon skull clicked. It had taken hours for his regeneration to complete before he could finally shift fact to his more humanoid form to feed the children.

"Poor Ruby is scared half to death of you but she insists your a good person. So, I will ask you Amber, what are you doing in that cabin?" He hissed.

The maiden only stayed silent for several seconds as she pondered his answer.

"I was there by myself. I haven't been to a human city in years. Those children are the first humans I've seen in years. And they're being looked after by a...Cursed.", she whispered as she drew back into a more curled position.

He laughed. A little.

"Trust me. The irony doesn't escape me either. But they are my responsibility. If any harm comes to them...", his knuckles and claw cracked ominously. The girl did not need a reminder he hoped.

She nodded vehemently, quite aware of his message.

"But it seems my children have taken a liking to you. So you are in my good graces for now. Do not squander it." He warned her as he stood up and began to leave.

"We will talk about your...magic later." Jaune added as he snuffed out the only light in her room. That left her in total darkness as he left the room, though for her, it seemed as his piercing six eyed gaze was still watching her.

**X.**

**Lordofire here. Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. I have big plans for amber in the future! But please leave a review on what you think!**


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